


Lonely

by AkitoAnemone



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-16
Updated: 2014-07-16
Packaged: 2018-02-09 03:49:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1967838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkitoAnemone/pseuds/AkitoAnemone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ai is taking the dorm switch a bit hard, and even though Rin is just down the hall, it feels like he's a million miles away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lonely

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry I wrote this in like an hour and I didn't edit it, but I have all these feelings and its written for a friend so.

It was already late and Ai should have been asleep hours ago, but there he was, tossing and turning in bed, trying and failing to fall asleep. It wasn't too warm, and Momo wasn't snoring like he sometimes did.

Things just weren't the same now that he and Rin didn't share a dorm anymore. Sure, he knew how important it was that Rin and Sousuke see each other again, and contrary to first impressions, Momo wasn't a bad roommate. A little loud at times, though. But he didn't feel like his dorm room was his home anymore without being able to wake Rin up in the middle of the night to talk or sneak down to the bottom bunk to lay next to him in bed.

It felt like it had taken so long to get to that point, and suddenly it was gone. The worst thing was, Rin didn't seem to understand why Ai was so upset about it. 

"I'll be just down the hall. You can visit whenever you want, and you'll still see me at practice all the time," Rin had told him, and those words had constantly circled through Ai's head ever since.

Suddenly, Ai sat straight up in bed, hitting his head on the bunk above. He almost yelled, holding it in at the last second. If Momo woke up, he would start asking questions and take forever to go back to sleep, and that wouldn't work with his plan at all. So, as quietly as he could, still rubbing the bump on his head, Ai grabbed his pillow and made his way out of their room. Rin said he could visit whenever he wanted, and he had never wanted to more than that night.

He knocked softly, praying to every diety he knew of that Sousuke wouldn't be a light sleeper, and that if Rin did answer the door, he wouldn't make a big, loud deal of Ai being there. He knew how easy it was to wake Rin up, and started to get a bit nervous when the door still hadn't been answered, so he knocked just a little louder.

Before he finished knocking, the door was opening up. "What?" Rin asked, squinting at the dim light of the hallway. His eyes opened a little wider when he noticed who it was. "Ai, it's three a.m."

Ai looked at the floor. Rin didn't seem too annoyed, but he knew it wouldn't be hard to get to that point. "I...you said I could come over any time, and I couldn't sleep. It's not the same, Senpai."

Rin sighed, pushing his hair out of his face with one hand, and held the door open a little wider. "You've gotta be quiet. No talking, just sleep."

"Of course, Senpai!" Ai's smile could have lit up the whole room, and Rin couldn't keep a small grin from appearing on his own face. He shook his head and led Ai across the room. 

As Rin slid into bed, Ai looked at the top bunk cautiously. "He won't wake up, don't worry," Rin assured him, holding up the comforter for Ai to get under. Ai gladly did, taking his familiar place in Rin's arms, his head nestled under Rin's chin. It was the most comfortable he had been since Rin had moved.

Rin held him close and tight, rubbing small circles on Ai's back because he knew it made the smaller boy more relaxed. Before long, Ai couldn't even remember why he had been having trouble sleeping in the first place. He was with Rin, and that was all that mattered. 

It was always apparent to Rin when Ai fell asleep. He always held a lot of tension, and Rin always felt when that would finally disappear, when Ai would finally be completely relaxed. Rin had to admit, he was always happier holding Ai in his arms, waiting for him to go to sleep. Maybe he missed it more than he thought he would.

As Rin, himself, finally drifted off to sleep he felt, for the first time since the move, that he was home again. Hopefully, he thought, Ai would be okay with making this a regular thing. He didn't think he'd hear any objections.

**Author's Note:**

> wow this is a mess. i just have a lot of feelings for these two


End file.
